


Five Times Chuck Bass Got It Wrong

by ficmuse



Category: Gossip Girl
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-05
Updated: 2016-05-05
Packaged: 2018-06-06 15:25:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6759487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ficmuse/pseuds/ficmuse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Notes: Spoilers through 1x18.</p><p>A character study through the years.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Five Times Chuck Bass Got It Wrong

i.

The girl looked exactly like Snow White. Chuck stared at her pale face, red lips, the dark curls that tumbled over her shoulders.

“Honey, are you listening to me?” Chuck looked up at his mom. She was wearing his favorite pink lipstick and a blouse that had flowers on it. They were red, like his rain boots.

“That girl is really pretty,” he told his mother, and pointed at her.

She pushed his hand down and shook her head. “Chuckie, it's rude to point. You need to listen now, because this is very important. You have to promise me that you will be a good boy today.”

“I'll be good,” he promised, the words coming out of his mouth automatically.

“No hitting, no biting, no pushing.” His mother recited the familiar list. “You are a big boy now. You need to be nice so you can make friends in kindergarten.”

“I have a friend. Nate's in my class.”

“Don't you want to make other friends?” his mother asked.

“No,” Chuck replied. “I only like Nate.”

His mother sighed and kissed his forehead. She smelled like flowers, and her hair was soft. “Your father and I hope you’ll make us proud today.” She turned and walked down the hall. He watched her go, striding in her tall red heels, swinging her bag with one hand, until he couldn’t see her any more.

Chuck felt so small and alone. He felt a touch on his arm and he turned and looked into a pair of big brown eyes. “Are you sad that your mom left?” she asked. Her eyes were red and her lower lip trembled. “My daddy left, too.”

“I'm not sad that she left,” said Chuck. “I am not a baby.”

She reached out a finger and wiped his cheek. “You are sad. You’re crying.”

“I am NOT!” yelled Chuck. He shoved her with one hand and wiped his face with the other. The girl fell back onto the floor, a look of surprise on her face. Her skirt flipped up in a flurry of white lace, and her red velvet headband flew off her head and bounced down the hallway. Her mouth hung open in a wide, red O.

“Chuck, no!” Nate grabbed his arm and pulled him over to the girl. “That’s not nice! Tell her you're sorry.”

“I'm not sorry,” said Chuck. “She's a stupid liar.”

Nate knelt down and held out his hand. “Here.” The little girl rose to her feet, clutching Nate's hand. “I'm sorry, that's just how he is. My mom says he can't help himself ‘cause he's got a temper problem.”

Chuck walked down the hall and picked up the headband. It was really soft under his fingers. He walked back and stood next to Nate, who was still holding the little girl's hand.

The little girl frowned at Chuck. “You're mean. I don’t like you.”

Nate took the headband from Chuck's hand and held it out to her. “He can't help it. That's just Chuck.” He smiled at the girl. “I'm Nate. What's your name?”

“Blair Cornelia Waldorf,” she replied, and straightened the bow on top of her head.

ii.

She must really like him.

Chuck wasn't quite sure how he had gone from working on a presentation on Alexander the Great to lying naked on a Persian carpet with Georgie Sparks. His breath was still coming in fast spurts; his brain fuzzed with the fact that He Had Done It. The second most beautiful girl in their class, and she had let him do- well, everything. She'd never even let him kiss her before.

He smiled at her, and she laughed. “What's so funny?” he asked her.

“You look so pleased with yourself,” Georgie replied, and there was a dark undercurrent to her voice that made Chuck really wish he wasn't naked.

“Well, I feel- happy,” he admitted, and the way that she rose her eyebrows at him made him wish that the earth would open up and swallow him whole right there.

“You're happy?” she said, her voice sharp. “You're happy with what just happened?”

“Well- yeah,” Chuck replied, hoping that was the right answer, what she wanted to hear, because he needed her to stop looking at him like that.

“You're pathetic,” Georgie said, with such venom in her voice that Chuck gave up any pretense of cool and grabbed his pants and underwear. “You suck! You're so pathetic you don't even know what to do!”

“I'm sorry!” Chuck rose to his feet and backed away, clutching his clothes in front of him.

“You didn't even get it in the right HOLE, you giant retard!” Her voice rose to a shrill pitch as Chuck ran away from her, his argyle socks slipping on the smooth hardwood floor as he fled down the hallway.

iii.

“I love you, Chuck Bass,” she said sweetly. Her hair swept around his face in a thick golden curtain, and her mouth covered his in a deep kiss. The initial shock gave way to a smooth, delicious heat that surged through him. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close. She pulled his shirt from his pants and ripped it open. Her hands moved to his belt as she backed him onto the bed.

“I've wanted to do this for such a long time,” she said, her voice husky.

“Serena-” he blurted, and then was silenced as she took him in her mouth.

Chuck woke up in the morning in his own bed. He still wore his boxers pushed down around his knees and his dress shirt was hanging from one wrist. He stood up and set himself to rights, finding his cuff links where they were buried in the thick Berber and replacing them. He smoothed down his hair, straightened his collar, and looked for Serena.

Serena was in the guest room, sleeping peacefully. She wore his blue pajamas, the striped silk looking much better on her than it had ever had on him. She looked angelic in her sleep, no traces of the revelry the night before to be seen.

Chuck walked down the hallway to the kitchen. The housekeeper looked up with surprise from the small television that was playing a telenovela. “Mister Chuck. You up early.” She refrained from mentioning “and you have never set foot in this kitchen before.”

“Can you please prepare a breakfast tray?” he asked. “Mimosas, eggs benedict, fresh fruit.” He paused. “And a vase of roses. Yellow, if you can.”

Her eyebrows rose. “Yes, sir.”

“Please bring the tray to the guest room when it is ready.” She nodded, and Chuck returned to his own room. He took a shower, noting with pleasure the various bruises and bites that adorned his body. He'd had great sex, repeatedly, with Serena van der Woodsen. Hopefully, he'd get to do it again after breakfast.

Chuck dressed with care, choosing a cashmere sweater in a pale pink, white linen pants and pink paisley bow tie. He checked his hair in the mirror one last time and walked down the hall to the guest room.

Serena sat up in the bed, her hair twisted up in a loose knot that was precariously perched on the nape of her neck. He immediately wanted to make it fall down around her shoulders.

She looked up at him and smiled. “Morning, Chuck.”

“Morning, gorgeous.”

She laughed, the sound deep and rich. “You're in an especially good mood.”

“It's shaping up to be the best day that I've had in a long time,” he replied.

Serena tilted her head and raised her eyebrows. “Big plans today?”

“I am completely at your disposal,” Chuck replied. “The city is ours. Whatever you want.”

“So, you're not entirely sick of me yet, then?” Serena speared a piece of melon and bit into it with relish. “I thought all your sleepover pals got the boot by 9 AM.”

“Not you, sweet Serena.” He reached out and took her hand. “My dear Miss van der Woodsen, I fear that I will never be sick of you at all.”

She laughed again as he kissed her hand. “I had no idea you could be so charming,” she said.

“I had no idea you could be so incredibly beautiful,” he said.

“You're laying it on a bit thick.” Serena smirked at him. “You know, no matter what you say, Bass, you're never going to add me to your list of conquests.”

He raised his eyebrows. “What?”

“I appreciate you taking me home from the party, and letting me stay here so that I could sober up, but that doesn't mean that it's going to get you anywhere.”

Chuck looked at her for a long moment. Her eyes were free of any guile or deceit, and he realized that she wasn’t playing a game. She had no recollection of the night before at all. Her confession of love, the incredibly intimate, prolonged bouts of sex- it hadn't happened in Serena’s coked out, drunken world. Just in his.

Chuck grabbed the champagne flute off the tray and chugged the mimosa.

iv.

Chuck stepped outside the din and bustle of Victrola in full swing and leaned back against the brick wall. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed. As he had feared, it went straight to voicemail.

“You have reached the voice mail of Lily van der Woodsen,” her voice said crisply. “Please leave a message at the tone.”

After the beep, Chuck began to speak. “Mrs. van der Woodsen, this is Chuck Bass.” He cleared his throat. “Look, I made a huge mistake when I spoke with you earlier. Bart Bass has not been stepping out on you. I totally misread the situation, which is understandable, because I think that both you and I know that my father likes chasing after women.” Chuck rubbed his forehead. “But the truth is this is different. You are different, and he's different with you, and when I told him that I may have blown his chances with you, I saw something in his eyes that I have never seen before. Fear. I think that my father has fallen in love with you. So, please return his calls, or let him in when he shows up on your doorstep. Because I think if you don't, you will hurt him, and I'm pretty sure that's a position that my father has never been in before. So, please don't break my father's heart. Thank you.” He closed the phone and slipped it in his pocket.

His limo pulled up to the curb, and Chuck stepped forward. Now Nate was here, and he could put all the unexpected drama behind him, and enjoy what was left of his first big night at Victrola.

But Blair Waldorf stepped out of the limo, her face set in a frown, and Chuck’s night went off in a completely different direction.

v.

Chuck’s cell phone chimed for an incoming text. He looked down at the screen. FUCK OFF AND DIE, YOU GIANT MAN SLUT.

So, Blair seemed to have figured out that he wasn’t on the 8:15 flight to Paris after all.

WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU, BASS?

He’d be happy to explain it to her, if he understood it himself.

There was a knock at the door and Chuck opened it to find Nate, arms crossed. “What the fuck is wrong with you, Bass?” he asked.

Chuck turned away from the door and poured himself a drink. “I am who I’ve always been,” he said. “It’s not my fault if totally unrealistic expectations were foisted upon me.” He took a sip of Scotch, the familiar taste a comfort.

“You invited Blair to Tuscany,” said Nate. “Why did you stand her up?”

YOU INVITED ME TO TUSCANY! IT WAS YOUR IDEA!

Chuck held up his cell phone and showed Nate the screen. “I think you and Blair must have been separated at birth.”

I THOUGHT YOU WANTED TO BE TOGETHER.

“This isn’t funny, Chuck,” said Nate. “I know you love Blair. She knows you love her. The only one who seems to be struggling with the concept is you.”

I THOUGHT THINGS WERE DIFFERENT NOW.

“I never made any promises,” said Chuck. “Look, if I want to go to the Hamptons instead of Tuscany, it’s not the end of the world.”

“But it’s the end of you and Blair,” Nate argued. “Look, you’ve embarrassed her. You already hurt her once, and if you think she’s going to let you do it again, you don’t know her as well as you think you do.”

I SHOULD HAVE SEEN IT COMING.

“I don’t need your assistance or advice,” said Chuck. “Let’s just get to the helicopter so we can get to the Wild Orchid before we lose our reservation.” Chuck picked up his luggage and followed Nate out the door.

Serena and Eric met them at the helipad. Both of the van der Woodsens gave him the same highbrowed, arch glare. “Oh, fuck off,” said Chuck. “I wasn’t betting on any support from my siblings anyway.”

Eric put a hand on his shoulder. “As your brother who loves you, I have to say: you made the wrong call, Chuck.”

“Duly noted.” Chuck climbed into the helicopter and sipped from his hip flask as they took off and soared into the sky over his city.

By the time they’d landed at the airport in Southampton and the limo had taken them to the restaurant, Chuck was really wasted. The joint they’d shared in the limo had made Nate mellow, Eric giggly and Serena- well, serene. But Chuck still felt edgy as hell, something missing, something wrong.

They walked into the restaurant and sat down at their table. Chuck sipped from his water glass, barely noticing that someone had sat down next to him. A hand slid across his thigh, and he turned his head and met Blair’s eyes.

“What took you all so long?” Blair sipped from a martini glass as big as her head, the pink of her drink matching the strapless dress that clung to her body.

“We had the driver circle the block a few times so we could finish the j,” Eric said in a low voice.

“Ah. Well, that explains it.” Blair put her drink down. “I ordered the deep fried brie to start and a bottle of Laurent-Perrier for the table.”

Chuck noticed that Serena, Eric and Nate were studiously staring at their menus. “So, did you all know about this?”

“Of course they did, Bass,” said Blair. “When are you going to learn that everyone’s one step ahead of you?”

“I don’t want to go to Tuscany,” said Chuck petulantly.

“Then it’s a good thing that we’re in Southampton,” Blair replied, and sipped her drink with a studied nonchalance that infuriated Chuck.

Chuck grabbed her arm. “Come with me. Now.”

He dragged her through the restaurant and they stood together outside, the traffic of a Hamptons summer rolling by. “I’m not some little boy you can lead around by the dick,” said Chuck, his voice sharp.

“I know,” said Blair, her face expressionless.

“I’m not certain I can do monogamy,” Chuck explained. “In fact, it kind of- it kind of scares the hell out of me.”

“I haven’t asked you for any kind of commitment,” Blair reminded him.

Chuck looked down at the ground for a long time, trying to come up with words, the right words. Blair put her arm around his waist and kissed his neck, and he took a long, deep sigh. “I didn't cheat, but I could have.”

“There has never been any shortage of skanks throwing themselves at you. I’m not anticipating that will change any time soon.”

He looked at her, and she was smiling at him. “I don’t deserve to be with you,” he said. “I’m really not good enough for you.”

Blair grinned at him. “No, you’re not. But I know who you are, Chuck Bass, and I want you anyway.”

Chuck kissed her then, and held her close, and the world felt right again.

The End


End file.
